Flight delayed. Airspace over southern Norway closed.

The error that has paralyzed air traffic has been found, and the airspace is being opened, Avinor informs at 09.40.

Air traffic throughout southern Norway has been at a standstill since 06.30 on Thursday morning. The reason is a technical error at Avinor’s control center at Røyken outside Oslo.

After just over three hours, the fault has finally been found, and air traffic can resume.

But major delays are still expected.

Closed throughout Southern Norway

– Now the airspace is closed in the whole of southern Norway due to challenges at Røyken. For now, the airspace is closed. We are doing what we can to find the fault and get the traffic going again, said communications manager Cathrine Fuglesang Framholt in Avinor to NTB early Thursday morning.

Just before 08.10, operational manager Øystein Skaar at Flesland informed BT that some traffic has started up again.

Among other things, a flight from Bergen to Trondheim is said to have taken off, according to Avinor’s own overview.

– I can confirm that some traffic has started, there are movements, but a limited number, said Skaar.

Small plane in the air

– Right now there are strict restrictions and that means there are very few planes in the air now. Strict restrictions mean that some planes are allowed to land and eventually also take off. But the fault has not been found, said Framholt at 09.10.

– How would you describe the situation here at Flesland in the morning hours?

– It’s pretty quiet here. I think most people understand that we cannot in any way fool around with security. When the airspace is closed, it is because the security was not considered to be high enough. But there are, of course, many despairing passengers who should have been somewhere else by now, or will be catching an onward connection. So it’s very sad, Framholt.

– What would you like to say to those who are here and those who will be flying from Flesland during the day?

– There will be delays for large parts of the day. Because once the error is found and corrected, there will be a very controlled start-up again here. So it is important that everyone follows the information they receive from their airline. It is the airlines that inform their passengers if the flight is delayed or cancelled, said the communications manager at Avinor.

Thought it would be closed longer

According to Norwegian, they were told by Avinor at one point that air traffic would not be opened again until 11 o’clock. That would therefore turn out to be wrong.

– We are informed by Avinor that the airspace will be closed until 11.00. That means we have to cancel a number of departures, communications advisor Eline Hyggen Skari told BT this morning.

Currently, more than 40 Norwegian flights have been canceled in Norway, according to her.

Skari says passengers will be contacted as soon as their flight is cancelled. They can then rebook to another flight, or get their money back, she says.

If you have not received any other message, you must meet as planned, she says.

Asking passengers to meet as normal

Røyken, the control center where the error is, is one of Avinor’s three control rooms in Norway.

Framholt in Avinor informs BA that there are two computer systems at the control center that are not talking to each other as they should. As a result, air traffic in southern Norway cannot be managed properly, and due to safety reasons the airspace must be closed until further notice.

Avinor says to NRK that they rule out that a data breach is the cause of the error.

– I can deny that it is. There are two systems that do not talk to each other as they should, says press officer Helene Wattanapradit Jensen in Avinor to NRK.

– Travelers must do as normal

Avinor writes in a press release that they encourage all travelers to comply with the information they receive from their airline.

– We apologize for the inconvenience this causes. This is all the information we have at the moment. We will come back with more information, writes Avinor.

Framholt asks passengers to travel to the airports as usual.

– Do as normal if you do not receive any other message from your airline.

Rescue helicopters fly as normal

Traffic to the oil installations in the North Sea is also delayed on Thursday.

– Due to operational reasons, some delays must be expected throughout the day. Passengers are asked to meet at the normal time for check-in, says the service heliport.no.

The rescue helicopters will fly as normal on Thursday, says rescue manager Jan Erik Skorte in the main rescue center to NRK.

– If it is a question of life or death, we fly as normal – completely regardless of this, says the rescue manager.

Nothing has happened so far on Thursday morning that has led to an assignment, he says.

The Norwegian Air Ambulance will not be affected by the flight stoppage either, says press manager Per Håkon Solberg.

– We fly when we have to fly, says Solberg.